DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Marsh Racing, a veteran of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and SCCA World Challenge competition, will make its GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 debut in the Porsche 250 on April 10 at Barber Motorsports Park.

The Old Lyme, Conn.-based team will field the No. 31 Corvette for Eric Curran and Sonny Whelen in the Rolex Series GT class, with plans to contest the remainder of the schedule.

The team took a Corvette that Curran drove to four victories in World Challenge competition and rebuilt it to Rolex Series specifications. The team is also building a brand new Corvette from the ground up.

“We’re working as fast as we can to get ready for Barber,” team owner Ted Marsh said. “We’re totally rebuilding this car. We went right down to the bare frame and started over. Even the Rolex Series roll cage requirements are slightly different, and we had to make a lot of changes. Coming to GRAND-AM, it’s NASCAR, so we’re headed in the right direction, and we’re looking forward to racing in the Rolex Series.”

March Racing began competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with driver Ted Christopher in 1998. Over the next two seasons, Christopher posted a pair of top-10 finishes at Nazareth Raceway. Steve Park became driver of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet in 2000, with Park posting a fourth-place finish at Bristol the following year.

Other drivers for Marsh Racing in the series included Andy Santerre, David Green, Tim Fedewa, Dave Blaney, Todd Bodine and Peyton Sellers. The team also competed in NASCAR Whelen Modified and K&N Pro Series East prior to joining the Nationwide Series.

Marsh Racing branched out to sports cars in late 2006, running four races with Whelen. Curran joined the team the following year, winning four races in the same Corvette he will be co-driving at Barber. Curran also finished sixth in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Lime Rock Park for Marsh Racing.

Curran won three Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge races in 2008 in a Cobalt, helping Jamie Holtom capture the driver’s championship and Georgian Bay Motorsports win the team title. He has 13 career victories in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition. Curran also raced in all of the Rolex Series classes, finishing second in GTS in the 2003 season finale at Daytona. Throughout his career, the Easthampton, Mass., driver won 24 races and 20 poles. He also won the SCCA National Championship in American Sedan in 1999, the year before he turned pro.

Whelen began racing in 2000, racing a Dodge Viper prepared by Marsh Racing for several years, winning rookie of the year and several championships. He then began racing in the World Challenge, winning rookie of the year. The team added Curran as a teammate the following season.

“We decided that GRAND-AM was the place we wanted to be,” said Whelen, a resident of Oldsaybrook, Conn. “We’re happy to be coming on board, and we look forward to racing at tracks like Lime Rock Park – my home track – and Watkins Glen International.”

Marsh Racing is the second Corvette team to transition to the Rolex Series this season. Lou Gigliotti’s LG Motorsports made its GRAND-AM debut in the Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and will return in the Porsche 250 with Kelly Collins and Eric Lux sharing the No. 28 Wheel Enhancements Corvette.

Practice for the Porsche 250 begins at 2:55 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 8. Qualifying begins at 11:40 a.m. ET Saturday (SPEEDtv.com, live). The race will air live at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday (SPEED).

source http://www.grand-am.com